Gowi — Roleplayer Guild

Formerly known as Smith’s Rest, New Anchorage was technically established in 2602 CE by a group of people trying to escape the grasp of the giant corporations. Originally the settlement got by through selling useless scrap in Alaskan ruins to neighboring corporations for food rations and economic utilities. However, the dangers of being “independent” became apparent throughout the years as criminal factions saw Smith’s Rest as an easy target. With few worthwhile NC’s to their name Smith’s Rest would barely survive throughout the years. However, luck would come their way when they began to uncover more substantial NC’s in their scavenging runs as well as odd friendships with major corporations like Volkov and Fairbanks.

Renamed New Anchorage in 2677, the settlement went from an obscure dot on the map to a small aspiring independent company led by a small group of people organized with the settlement’s interests at heart. However, in only a few months of time New Anchorage found itself struggling even as it took any contract sent in its direction. Their operations commander, Sophia, abandons New Anchorage in a fit of emotion and sends the operation into jeopardy which results in individuals scattering until the settlement hires a man of experience by the name of Michael Graham. Fortunately, Graham has taken the reins of New Anchorage eagerly and with cohesive military organization.

The word went out that Graham was looking to test anyone for NC abilities in addition to looking to hire those who already have a NC of their own; swearing he would turn New Anchorage into a successful operation that would rival the big corporations. However, things do not always go exactly to plan and it was clear that Graham has made his share of enemies. As he begins to allocate resources to prepare his pilots for their first operational mission, shadows lurk in the darkness with dangerous machinations that could risk everything he hopes to create...

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“When a sinister person means to be your enemy, they always start by trying to become your friend.” 
	– Richard Fairbanks, CEO & President of Fairbanks LTD

Richard Fairbanks was quoting English poet William Blake when he showed his true colors to the then President of the United States of America. That statement, in context, that can be seen as the precursor to the world that Fairbanks and many others like him forged in their image; the rise of new capitalism— the corporatocracy, and the fall of old capitalism.

It has been five hundred years since the planet Earth was struck down by the horrors of a nuclear holocaust, though fortunately for the human race and the planet; both persevered despite the odds. One of the main reasons behind the survival of humanity was the ingenuity of innovators within the nuclear security field, such as Richard Fairbanks, Mikhail Volkov, Yukiya Akahoshi, and many others. Inspired by the archaic novelties of the fallout shelters of the 20th century, these shrewd businesspeople laid down the ground work for massive underground citadels that become known as “Burrows”— the salvation of humankind. But this salvation to those who didn’t wish to be swallowed by the impending nuclear holocaust came at a price; for as the saying goes, to trust a corporation is a fool’s gambit— and a fool’s price is what humanity received.

In the two hundred years that humanity was trapped underneath the shadow of the corporations there was much change and a new society began to take shape underground as what was left on the surface was destroyed by nuclear fire. Politicians who had fled into safety found themselves powerless before they became targets of corporate agents who decided that the “chess pieces” of the old world had to be retired… permanently. The old regime was deemed “out of date” and not one citizen flinched as prominent people they knew before the war disappeared. As time continued to carry on the citizens who obeyed became the new upper class and received the food rations and medical treatment that came with such loyalty. It seemed that no matter if it was Kings or Presidents or a Board of Directors— the pecking order was more or less the same.

Time carried on until the doors to the surface opened once again in 2340 CE.

The corporations that had started as nuclear security firms expanded, their citizens resettled the land of their ancestors, and began for a time to look optimistic towards life on the once again livable surface. For a time there was peace on Earth— but old habits die hard. Within fifty years of humanity returning to the surface corporations began to recover old world technology from the ruins; one incredible recovery being that of the 22nd century’s bipedal mecha, a humanoid machine controlled directly by the mind. Thus a weapon of mass destruction became the golden standard: The Neural Combatant. This discovery, unsurprisingly led to the return of war and revolt. Corporations fought one-another as they forced more and more research into Neural Combatants and thus the arms race of the last two centuries was defined.

It is now 2677, and the situation has only gotten exponentially worse. The five major corporations continuously experiment, wage war on smaller corporations, deal with criminal factions ruthlessly, and expand their territorial reach. 

As people became more burdened and suffocated on their Earth in the twenty-first century, they once again looked to the stars for answers and hope. However, many people of the time couldn’t imagine what their efforts to save their planet would lead to in the succeeding centuries. Whilst climate change, depleting oil reserves, and tension in the Middle East served as the principal issues that led science along NASA began an initiative that would be called the Terra Nova Program; a program devised in several stages beginning with financial funding from national governments to research technology to reduce the timeline of terraforming Mars with the hopes that a final resort into interstellar colonization and expansion would be fulfilled. This dream would be one not achieved in the creators of the program’s lifetime.

By the mid-to-late twenty-first century developments in new power sources, warfare, eco-technologies, and other technologies. This leads to the development of early nanomachines, experimental power sources, and the tanks evolution into mechs. It would take years for research to make these inventions cost efficient and cohesive but said developments would lead to NASA’s utilization of new power sources to develop new space shuttle designs and expand on nanomachines for their own benefit in their terraforming efforts. These would all come to fruition in the twenty-second century.

Climate change is the biggest concern of the early twenty-second century, but is shelved when conflicts in the Middle East, Eastern Asia, and India occur. As Iraq is swallowed by Israel and Iran after ISIL-affiliated control shifts, North Korea collapses after facing an alliance between Japan and the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation’s continued expansion, and conflict between Pakistan and India reaches a boiling point. As new lines in the sand are drawn the United Nations convenes to ensure a third World War is not on the horizon. Things remain tense and while there is no declaration of war many journalists decree that the world is now living in a second Cold War. Fortunately, this climate causes more nations to invest into technological research; research that leads NASA into developing a technological effort with utilization by an experimental antimatter power generator and state-of-the-art nanomachines.

Due to the fear of a nuclear holocaust in this second Cold War several business professionals create nuclear security firms to profit off humanity’s fears. But unlike the shelters of the 1950s the projects are far more ambitious as Mikhail Volkov develops an underground citadel secure from nuclear threat nicknamed by the public slang as a “burrow”. Other individuals such as Richard Fairbanks, Yukiya Akahoshi, Richard Caine, Josef Ophir, and Waclaw Dokowski followed in Mikhail’s influence— most of them being a part of Volkov Industries in their early careers. This brings the rise of the Nuclear Security Business Firm; a business that would see effective when the second Cold War turns into the third World War and in its finality on the year of 2177 results in the nuclear holocaust that humanity had feared would come true since the twentieth century.

As history will tell you, “Burrows” is the slang for the massive underground cities that served as fallout shelters between 2177 and 2340. Since 2340, these massive citadels have grown upward as the ruins of the old world cities were cleared for the new structures of the neo-metropolises of the modern day. These mega-cities are the center of “society” and are seen as these walled off utopia’s; though those who are born with little often claim they are dystopias instead. Clean energy has made industrial infrastructure minimalized as well as allowing humanity not to repeat the same ecological missteps as their ancestors. The central power source of the day is antimatter and plasma. Nuclear development is a taboo internationally and every corporation agrees that nuclear-oriented technologies are archaic and dangerous so it is fervently outlawed.

Smaller neo-metropolises exist, but for the most part are not as plentiful as the density of the world in the twenty-first century. Old world ruins are used as “scrap factories” and are refurbished into clean metal alloys for tram railways, transits vehicles, weapons, and city upkeep (though nanomachines keeps the need for repair unnecessary in the mega-cities). The further from the corporations one goes the smaller the settlements become and the more prone to independent effects they become. Smugglers, Raiders, Gangs, Slavers, Warlords, and Profiteers are sprawled across these sparsely populated (by comparison) areas— though the corporations who claim the territory still tax them harshly. These criminal factions are rarely fought by the major corporations due to three factors— the first is corporations will only act against them if they view the asset as essential or worthwhile, the second is if these criminals pay “royalties” to operate to the corporations, or third is if the victims have contributed to corporate tax in their area.

Neural Combatants are large heavily armed and armored mechanized machines that take the basic principles of 20th century armored tanks, 21st century advanced aircraft, and generalized infantry designations to create effectively the ultimate form of war machine. Neural Combatants are controlled primarily by the thoughts of the user through the use of a network unique to mecha called the Neural Net; effectively a process of bring the process of a machine together with the complexity of the human mind to synchronize operations effectively and cohesively. The Neural Net is accessed through the installment of a Neural Plug that is usually implanted into the human body’s upper spine; a surgery that is as dangerous as it sounds. However with the complete synchronization of man and machine being an advantage on the battlefield there are few who don’t qualify the outcome more valuable than any substantial risks or long term psychological or physical health problems.

Although very complex machines when put together, NC’s can be retrofitted, customized, and modified to any individual’s preference or particular skillset. This is due to the fact that the neural core is represented solely within the core centerpiece that is often referred to as the cockpit— it is the location of the pilot’s body while they are within partial animation and the integrity of the entire war machine. It is also the storage hub for the central power sources; an antimatter generator that houses power for the NC’s functions. However, despite being customizable there are health risks to making major changes or repairs to a NC due to the effect of a sort of shock to the nervous system that causes huge surges of pain to readapt to the newly realignments. The neural plug “expecting” a different physical makeup is the equivalent of having extreme limb replacement surgery; the body reacts accordingly. Veterans of drastic changes may find themselves used to the pain as their brain and body finds itself used to various modifications.

Neural Combatants are made out of the standard associated parts although the core is the only true piece of a NC with various forms of legs, armaments, armor, extranormal extensions, sensory equipment, storage shells, and generators serving as additions that vary on aesthetic or purpose. 

2175 CE – The majority of nuclear security firms prepare their massive underground citadels for use.

2177 CE – The tense landscape of WWIII results in a nuclear reaction which spirals out of control thus bringing the end of the old world.

2340 CE – Nuclear effects on Earth’s environment have settled and surviving humans return to the surface.

2602 CE – Smith’s Rest is established in the what was once known as Alaska.

2647 CE – Red-Star causes a dispute when they encroach on Denver-Vegas territory. This is called the Andreas Dispute War.

2648 CE – The Andreas Dispute War comes to a close, Red-Star agrees to control their California subsidiaries in not causing for incidents. They are fined by Denver-Vegas for damages.

2649 CE – A major independent company called Elysian Dream (located in modern day Seattle) is absorbed into the larger Volkov Nuclear Security.

2650 CE – A conflict between Volkov and Denver-Vegas occurs over the acquisition of Elysian Dream. It is called The Elysian War.

2657 CE – The Elysian War is settled with terms unknown to the general public.

2668 CE – Fairbanks and Denver-Vegas settle a territorial dispute to prevent full-scale war as both corporations find it unprofitable for their current projections.

2676 CE – Smith’s Rest is renamed New Anchorage.

01.2677 CE – Michael Graham is hired by New Anchorage.

01.2677 CE – Michael Graham begins a recruitment drive for prospective pilots.

02.2677 CE – Graham sets up an examination he calls his ultimatum at the end of the month for all pilots.

03.2677 CE – Present Date / IC.

Honestly, I feel like it is a bit superfluous going over an established rules section; but I guess this might be a bit necessary to go over for the RP’s sake. Let me be clear, I believe I am a fair GM albeit a bit of one with a serious disposition— but if you respect me and your fellow players, I respect you. Don’t… and well, I turn into a shark. Let’s not turn this into a shark movie, we have enough of those don’cha think?  With that said, here are some brief guidelines to note so we can have a fun time and not a shitty time.

Every single person should be aware that we will respect and obey RPG’s rules. Mahz and his staff are really reasonable and have designed a site where we can have fun without too much hassle. So let’s not contradict those guidelines and rules.

The GM staff should be respected at all times, but not just them. Your fellow players should not be belittled, condescended, or felt unwelcome. Even if you are frustrated you should make sure you are not antagonizing your peers. This is not to say you have to “handhold” them or “sugarcoat” yourself— but you need to follow rules of civility. There is no question about that.

Don’t powergame! Since this is an action RP for a lot of its content you should know what is and isn’t okay. We’ve all been (assumingly) RPing for a long time but we know what meta-gaming, power-playing, god-modding, and the other variations of the “don’ts” of RPing are. Don’t do them or I will have the ghost of LHG summoned to eat your mech or I’ll have you get shot. Whichever is easier for me.

This is a collaborative RP! But we shouldn’t focus on collabing every other day on unfair schedules. Not everyone is from the eastern side of the United States— I want potential players to feel like they are involved as well as try to keep a good rhythm going for the story. This means I will try not to time-skip or scene shift unless it is the right time.

Character applications will be posted in the OOC, Accepted applications will be posted in the Characters tab. Returning players should adapt their CS to the “new” format with some quick edits as well as edit in recent events to their backstory, but will still be treated on equal terms as new players; as such means I will review your CS!— such things could be bullet-pointed or written long form if desired. If you have any questions please let me know.

Players who drop should not be surprised to see their characters become brief NPC’s for a time. I will find a way to write them out, but if you quit in the middle of a firefight there will be consequences to that. This is not be taking over your characters but keeping consistency of the RP cohesive and not allowing a “dead stop”.

It is the PLAYER's RESPONSIBILITY to keep up with the IC. It is not the GM's or others to mention, ping, or otherwise inform you that you should be posting.

Have fun!
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